


Wasteland

by JuneBird15



Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Album), Fallout (Video Games), Original Work
Genre: Post-Apocalypse, loosely based off The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, loosely based off fallout
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 18:40:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14408166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuneBird15/pseuds/JuneBird15
Summary: an english assignment i decided to post lmao. LOOSELY based off of fallout and danger days: ttlotfk, but only for world building. creatures, towns, clans, and characters are all mine.





	Wasteland

It’s late when Ash returns home, weary and covered in dust from the day’s patrols. Her fingers twitch in relief from holding a rifle all day and her short hair sticks in a frenzied mess from her gear. She doesn’t react to the loud screech the front door lets out as she opens it.

A single lantern lights up the room, and the wind whistles through the metal slats that make up the roof. She sees her sister hunched over in the middle of the floor, wrapped in a blanket and stroking the fur of her beloved dog. 

“You’re supposed to be asleep.” Ash leans against the wall slightly, looking at the heap in front of her sternly. Alena doesn’t react. 

“Moose was growling at the night-mockers again.”

She moves from her place against the wall to the makeshift cabinet, retrieving her half of the dinner can. “What is this?”

“Some kind of artificial meat. We’re out of beans,” Alena replies, glancing at her sister’s grimace, “at least it isn’t dog food.”

“That was one time!”

“Yea, and it sucked. At least you had the decency to give it to Moose after you took a bite out of it.”

Ash sits down next to Alena, pushing her shoulder slightly. Alena sticks her tongue out at her for a moment, returning to petting Moose. Ash looks at her younger sister fondly. She appreciates that even through the war and losing their parents, even through the times that they weren’t sure whether they’d survive another day, Alena has always stayed a bright, silly girl. 

The same can’t be said for Ash, and she knows this. She became hardened from their experiences. She knows she has a duty to her father, who made her promise to protect Alena if he were to ever leave them for any reason. She learned how to fight to protect Alena. She joined the patrols to protect Alena. When she found an abandoned german shepherd puppy in a dump zone, she smuggled him under her body armour until her rounds were over and brought him home, training him to protect Alena when she can’t.

“How were patrols today?” Alena asks, and Ash shrugs.

“Same old, same old for the most part. Matthias got stung by a buzzer and screamed like a little girl.”

Alena laughs loudly, and Moose raises his head to look at her. “He’s so ridiculous. Buzzer stings don’t hurt that much.”

“I don’t know, this one was only as big as Moose. Their venom is more concentrated when they’re smaller.”

“Still. Sometimes I don’t know how he’s such a high rank.”

Ash gets up, smiling. “You know just as well as I do that he’s one of the best fighters in the whole squad.”

“Yeah, but still,” Alena says, “I’m starting to think you like him.”

Ash wacks the side of her sister’s head, earning a shout of protest and another laugh. She can’t help but grin down at her.

“Time to go to sleep.” Ash places her now empty can on the table and moves to the corner where their mattress is. 

Alena blows out their lantern and lays down next to her, with Moose placing himself at their feet. It isn’t long until Ash hears soft snores beside her, and she follows soon after.

 

Ash awakes to Moose jumping up. He’s growling, and she sees his hackles are raised.

“What is it, boy?” 

She remembers what Alena was saying about the night-mockers, but this seems like an extreme reaction for the small, harmless rodents.

Moose starts to bark, and Ash shakes Alena awake.

“Hm? What’s going on?” Alena sits up slowly, wiping the sleep out of her eyes. She reaches over to try to calm Moose, but he continues to bark and snarl at the door.

Ash gets up and grabs her rifle from its spot by the door, and checks if it’s loaded. There’s no way Moose would be making such a fuss about an animal.

“Stay here with Moose. I’m going to go check with the patrols.”

Alena stands up. “Be careful.”

“I will.” Ash opens the door, peeking around the frame. She has barely taken a step outside when she hears gunshots in the distance.

“Ash?”

“Do not leave this house! There’s a revolver stashed under the bed. Get it and only use it if you absolutely need to. Do you understand me?” Ash shouts back at Alena, whose face has contorted into a mix of fear and confusion. 

Alena gives a slight nod, and Ash runs outside. She slams the door behind her, leaving her sister to sit and wait.

It doesn’t take long for Ash discover the source of the commotion, but she would be lying if she said she’s shocked. Her and Alena have been through this before.

The Nocturne are attacking the town.

The siege laid on The Flock over seven years ago is still a clear memory in her mind, from hearing the first gunshots, to the screams, all the way down to witnessing her dad get shot through the chest directly in front of her. She was only fifteen when she led her weeping sister out of the burning compound, leaving behind the helpless screams of their neighbours and friends.

Ash breathes deeply in an attempt to clear her mind. Thinking about the past will only distract her.

She reaches the barracks, and slams the door open to chaos. Fellow off-duty patrols rush around, throwing on their worn out body armour and loading extra ammunition onto their belts.

“Matthias! Where’s the attack coming from?” Ash reaches her partner, grabbing her vest off its hook and throwing it on.

Matthias looks at her gravely, strapping on his own gear. “Everywhere. They’ve surrounded us.”

“How is that possible?”

“I think they ambushed the outer patrols. Our inner lines are holding them off for now, but I doubt for much longer. We’re outnumbered.”

Ash has barely finished getting ready when an explosion lights up the room, throwing her against the wall and leaving her ears ringing. 

She’s disoriented for a minute, but is vaguely aware of the screaming of injured and dying men and women around her. She can feel blood running down her face, and reaches up to the new gash in her forehead.

She’s snapped out of it by Matthias, who has grabbed her arm and is shouting at her to get up. Ash has no option but to comply and stands with his help, throwing her gun over her back. 

“Alena-”

“They haven’t reached the centre of town yet. She’s fine for now,” Matthias reassures, leading her outside. Others stumble out behind them, some dragging out bodies or carrying their mutilated friends. 

The outskirts of the town have been set on fire, and nocturne soldiers are opening fire on the helpless townspeople. 

The remaining patrols are returning their shots, but it’s clear that they’re fighting a losing battle. The town is falling, and there’s no way to save it.

“We have to get out of here.” Ash pulls her gun off of her back and starts to move towards the house, Matthias following closely behind her.

They reach the road without difficulty, but are forced to duck behind a boulder when a bullet strikes the dirt at their feet.

“We have to keep moving!” Ash leans around the side of the boulder, shooting down an advancing nocturne soldier. “That building over there is our next cover. We need to make a break for it.”

“Do we? I think we’re fine right here.”

Ash looks at Matthias incredulously. “Yeah, I can see how hiding behind a rock is a much better strategy.”

Matthias shrugs, but gets ready to run nonetheless. Ash raises a hand, counting down from three on her fingers. They spring out from behind the boulder, Matthias taking down a nocturne while running. They reach the building, stopping for a moment to catch their breath.

“We’re almost there,” she mumbles to herself, wiping some of the blood away from her face as Matthias fires around the corner.

She hears a footstep to her right, and turns just in time to dodge a machete swinging at her head. It lodges into the wood of the wall, and she uses the opportunity to strike the attacker. He lets go of the weapon and stumbles backwards, holding his now bloody face.

Ash dislodges the machete, swinging it at her attacker and striking him in the arm. He shouts in pain, but advances towards her, knocking the blade out of her hand and grabbing her neck. 

She claws at his wrists, but his grip doesn’t loosen. It feels like an eternity before she’s released, a bullet exploding through her attacker’s head.

“I had him,” Ash coughs from the ground, and Matthias rolls his eyes.

“Sure you did.” He helps her up. 

She grabs the machete, pulling the sheath off the nocturne’s belt and attaching it to her own. 

“The road’s clear. We have a straight shot to Alena.” 

Ash nods, and they run out into the road. They’re almost there when they hear Alena scream, Moose snarling, and a single gunshot. Ash screams out and runs faster, bursting through the door.

She’s stunned at the scene before her, and Matthias curses under his breath from behind her.

A nocturne soldier lays on the ground, his head covering the wall beside the door. Across from it stands Alena, tears streaking down her face and the revolver still raised.

She glances at Ash and Matthias for a moment, slowly looking back at the dead man on the floor, and covers her mouth in shock at what she just did. The gun falls out of her hand and she sinks to the floor, sobbing.

“Alena, come on. We need to go.” Ash makes her way over to her sister. Matthias stays posted at the door.

Alena holds her head in her hands. “I killed him. Oh god, I killed him.”

“You were protecting yourself. It’s okay.”

Alena looks at Ash, wiping the tears from her own eyes and hugs her.

Ash feels sick to her stomach at the thought of Alena having to kill someone. It’s traumatizing, no matter the situation, and she remembers having nightmares for months after the first time she killed someone. 

“Girls, we need to go.”

Alena slowly stands up, and Ash grabs the revolver from the floor, placing it in a spare holster on her leg. Moose follows behind them as they leave the house, ears alert and eyes looking around.

“We need to get to the old mechanics shop,” Ash says, leading them to the outskirts of the city.

“What? Why?” Matthias looks at her like she’s crazy. “There’s nothing there. It was cleared out years ago.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

 

They reach the shop without much difficulty, and Ash glances through the window of the door before forcing it open.

“Matthias, Alena, meet Betty and Patty.” 

In the middle of the shop sit two old, beat up motorcycles. Ash walks over to the counter and reaches behind it, grabbing two sets of keys.

“What the hell? Where did you get these?” Alena asks, walking over to the bikes. Matthias just stares in disbelief.

“Found them in the back a couple years ago. Fixed them up in case of emergencies like this.” She tosses a pair of keys to Matthias. “Ever ride one before?”

Matthias nods slowly, walking over to one of the bikes. Ash tells Alena to get on the back of the other, and grabs a harness from against the wall. She quickly secures it to Moose, and Matthias looks at her inquisitively. 

“What’s that?” Alena says, and Ash leads Moose to Matthias. 

“Bend down.” Matthias looks at Ash with confusion, but quickly obeys. 

Ash pats his back, and Moose hops up, allowing her to secure the harness straps around Matthias’ back.

“How did you teach him that?” Alena looks on in awe. Ash tells Matthias to stand, and he mounts the bike with Moose strapped to his back.

“I’ve taught him a lot of things that you don’t know about.”

Alena just stares at her sister as she walk to the bay doors and opens them. Ash quickly climbs on in front of Alena, and they start up the bikes.

“Listen to these babies purr!” Matthias shouts, pushing the kickstand up.

They both roar out of the shop, turning out of town toward nothing in particular. Alena holds onto Ash tightly, and turns to look at the burning town behind them.

She continues to look until it’s a speck in the distance, and the sun starts to raise in front of them.

“Where are we going?” Alena shouts over the engine, and Ash turns to look at her for a split second.

“I don’t know.”

Alena looks around for a moment. “Head north-east. To Solaris City. We should be able to get there by midday if we keep going at this speed.”

Ash glances down at the dash to check her gas meter. Almost empty. 

“How long to walk there?”

“Three days.”

Ash curses, and starts to speed up. Matthias follows suit. 

They need to cut travel time as much as possible. Being stuck in the wastelands without very much in the way of supplies is a death sentence. If the mutated animals or radiation poisoning don’t get you, then starvation or dehydration will. 

There’s only enough food and water in the motorcycles’ packs for a day, so they’ll have to survive for two with nothing, unless they can find supplies along the way.

 

Almost an hour has passed when she hears the engine sputter and they start to slow down. They come to a complete stop a minute later, and the engine dies. Matthias stops next to them.

“Tank is empty.” Ash puts up the kickstand, and her and Alena climb off.

“Mine’s nearly empty, too,” Matthias says, turning off his engine, “what’s the plan?”

“Continue north-east. Solaris is the closest settlement not under Nocturne rule.” Alena points toward the horizon.

Ash walks over to Matthias and unstraps Moose from his back. The dog stretches the second he touches the ground, and shakes his fur out when the harness is removed.

Alena opens one of the packs, and pulls out a small first aid kit. “Ash, come here.”

She’s confused for a moment, until she remembers the gash in her forehead. Alena pulls out an antiseptic wipe and presses it to the wound on Ash’s forehead. She hisses in pain, but doesn’t flinch.

Matthias is taking the pack off of his motorcycle behind them, and throws it over his back. “We need to get moving.”

“Just a moment.” Alena finishes cleaning Ash’s forehead. “There’s no gauze in here, but I think the bleeding has stopped.”

Alena places the kit back into the pack, and copies Matthias. Ash removes the revolver and holster and holds it out to Alena.

Alena looks at it with fear in her eyes, and doesn’t reach out for it.

“Take it,” Ash commands, “you’ll die out here if you don’t have anything to defend yourself with.”  
Alena finally gives in, gently taking it from her sister and attaching it to her leg. She looks at it for a minute, before looking up at the horizon. “Let’s get moving.”

 

The rest of the day is uneventful. They only stopped a few times to rest, and it’s already getting dark when they stop to make camp for the night.

Alena flops onto the ground, groaning at her sore feet. Matthias is close behind her, and removes the pack from his shoulders. Ash, who relieved Alena of the pack hours earlier does the same, crouching down to dig through it.

“One of you, go get some sticks for a fire.” 

Matthias groans, getting up.

Ash rolls her eyes, and continues to dig through the bag. She eventually finds what she’s looking for, and pulls out a chain with a piece of flint hanging from it.

It isn’t long until they have a small fire going, and are all huddled around it. It’s nearly pitch black now, barely any light from the moon or stars able to break through the thick haze caused by years of nuclear warfare.

They’ve all eaten, splitting a can of beans between the four of them. Alena is laying down, her head resting on Moose’s side, and she’s snoring peacefully. Matthias is hunched over, not quite asleep, but getting there. Ash is wide awake.

She can hear the howling of a pack of squabblers in the distance, and grips her gun a little bit tighter. The thought of being ripped apart by a squabbler is enough to send shivers up her spine. They’re known for fighting over their prey- whether it’s alive or not- and their razor sharp teeth aren’t something you’d want to come face-to-face with.

Ash eventually dozes off, waking periodically to add more wood to the fire. The night seems to drag on, and she nearly cries with relief once she sees the first glimpses of morning to the east. She’s already packed up and ready by the time the others wake, and they all share a bottle of water as their breakfast before beginning to walk again.

It isn’t long until Ash notices Alena’s off. She knows why, because the same thing happened to her years ago. She remembers it vividly.

It was a few days after the attack on The Flock’s compound, when they lost everything. The girls had fled to an abandoned ranger post, where they were camping out, surviving on the few rations they found in the cupboard. 

She remembers the knife. It was stuck into the wooden table when they had arrived, and she kept it hooked through her belt loop. It was a hunting knife, the kind that’s serrated on the back.

It was midday when it happened. The girls were playing cards in the building when they heard someone walking outside. Ash glanced out the window, and caught a glimpse of a woman holding a gun, wearing a jacket with The Nocturne’s crest. Ash and Alena hid in the closet, holding their breath as the woman entered the building.

She now realizes the woman was probably just looking for food, but knew then, and still knows now, that if she hadn’t stabbed her when she opened the cabinet, the woman would have shot both of them. That’s just how members of The Nocturne are.

They’re a clan full of remorseless brutes and thugs who don’t care what they have to do to claim land for themselves.

Ash barely slept for months afterwards, and during the day, she moved like a zombie.

Alena is almost the spitting image of her after this.

She decides to leave it alone for now, but continues to glance over at her throughout the morning.

It’s the afternoon when she finally seems to normalize a bit. Ash calls for a short break, and they all sit down in the dirt.

Matthias stares out into the distance, his brow furrowed. Ash follows his gaze, and figures out what he’s staring at. It appears to be an old, collapsing gas station.

“Do you think there’s any food or water left there?” Alena asks, and Matthias shakes his head.

“Not likely, but it won’t hurt to check.”

“There’s probably a lot of critters in there though, using it for shade,” Ash adds, standing up.

“Are these the critters that will run away from us, or eat us?” Alena also stands, looking at the station, now with a worried expression.

“Maybe a mix of both. We’ll see.”

Matthias joins them in standing, and is the first to take steps toward the building. The girls follow him, and they reach the gas station within ten minutes.

Moose is growling lightly from beside Alena, and Matthias pulls out his gun. Ash, not wanting to waste bullets, unsheathes the machete she liberated earlier. 

“Alena, you stay out here. Matthias, on my mark.”

Alena crouches down by Moose, and Ash and Matthias move to the doorway. Ash counts down, and they burst in, looking around for anything that may be a threat. They freeze faster than they entered, and stare in horror at the largest sandsith they’ve ever seen. It sees them and freezes, staring at them for a moment. It shrieks, its antennae vibrating wildly to call the rest of its colony.

Ash places the machete back into its sheath and grabs her gun off her back, realizing there’s no way this thing can be take out with a small blade.

Matthias is the first to open fire, filling the sandsith with bullets. It shrieks louder, and a wave of smaller sandsiths start to climb out from under the floorboards.

Ash shoots at these ones, narrowly avoiding a few of their pincers.

Matthias finally kills the queen, and the smaller sandsiths run out of the gas station.

“I hate those things,” he grumbles, dropping his empty clip on the floor and replacing it with his last full one, “I have twelve rounds left.”

“I have about the same.”

Matthias peaks out the door, and waves for Alena to join them. She jogs up, Moose trailing behind her, and sighs in relief at the shade of the building.

“Let’s take a look around. See what we can find.” Ash starts towards the back room, and Alena moves to the counter, stepping around the now dead sandsith. Matthias checks the shelves.

They end up finding two bottles of water, but nothing else.

“We should stay here. I’d feel much safer in a building for the night than out in the open,” Ash suggests.

Matthias ponders for a moment, agreeing. Alena is just happy to be stopping for the day.

They set up a small fire under a hole in the roof once it’s dark and settle around. They sit in silence, mostly, it occasionally being broken by the rustling of one of them readjusting or a heavy breath.

It’s late when Alena finally speaks. 

“Ash, I’m scared.”

“Hm?”

“I’m scared of myself.” Alena looks down at her lap.

Ash scoots closer to her, taking her sister’s hands in her own. “You had no choice. It was either him, or you.”

Alena nods, not looking at Ash. “I know, but that’s not why I’m scared.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, it wasn’t hard to kill him. It was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done, I think. I didn’t even think before I pulled the trigger. It was like something just washed over me.” Alena wipes a tear from her cheek. “What am I becoming? What’s so wrong with me that I have to be afraid of myself? What if this fear causes me to do something terrible?”

Ash pulls her into an embrace. Alena is sobbing now, and Matthias is looking at her with concern.

“Fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream,” Ash says, stroking Alena’s hair. “Sometimes we do things that we don’t understand. You were probably too shocked to feel anything. The fact that you’re upset now shows that there’s nothing wrong with you. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Alena just nods slightly against Ash’s chest, her sobs slowly getting quieter and farther apart. They fall asleep wrapped in the comfort of each other.

 

Matthias shakes them awake. Ash opens her mouth to ask what's going on, but he places a finger over his mouth for silence. Alena and Ash glance at each other in concern, but understand when they hear voices behind the gas station.  
“-and they said they fled north-east on motorcycles.”

“Squad two found the bikes discarded a while back-”

“I bet they’ve been through here. Let’s check inside.”

Alena looks at them in panic, and Ash motions for them to follow her into the back room. They hide behind the wall, and Ash pulls her machete, standing right next to the door.

Alena is crouching down, holding Moose’s snout closed. They hear the Nocturne soldiers enter the gas station.

“These ashes are still warm. They’re probably still here. Find them.”

The three hold their breath as the footsteps get closer, and Ash gets ready to strike. 

The second she sees the soldier round the corner, she swings her machete, burying it into the side of his head.

He falls after a moment, dead, and the remaining nocturne duck behind cover as Matthias opens fire. 

There appears to be five of them left after Matthias manages to gun one down, and Ash moves forward, crouching behind a shelf.

She swaps to her gun and peers around the side of the shelf, shooting at a nocturne as she peeks out to return fire.

Four left. Matthias shoots from behind the counter, managing to hit one in the chest. Three left.

It’s at this moment that Matthias goes to pull the trigger once more, only to have nothing happen.

“Ash! I’m out of bullets!”

As if on cue, Ash’s own gun runs out as well. She swear and grabs her machete once more, staying behind the shelf.

“You have nowhere to go, and you’re out of bullets. What’re you going to do now?” a nocturne taunts, and Ash uses the split second to dive behind the counter with Matthias.

Only after a moment of silence, with no gunfire sounding out, do they realize that Alena was still in the back room.

They hear Alena shriek, Moose snarl, and a gunshot. They hear Moose whimper, followed by a thud, and Alena’s helpless sobs.

Ash tries to get to the room, but the moment she pokes her head up, the other Nocturne shoot at her. She ducks back behind the counter, shouting her sister’s name.

“Ash-” Alena is cut off as she’s lead out of the room, her revolver pressed to her temple.

Ash puts her hands in the air, slowly standing up, and Matthias copies her. The soldiers hold their fire.

“Let her go. Please,” Ash almost whispers, her voice nearly failing her.

“Shut up,” the nocturne orders, “move into the front of the store. Slowly.”

They have no choice but to comply, and as soon as they’re out from behind the counter, the other two nocturne grab them, and hold them to face Alena and her captor.

“You three have been a pain in my ass since you escaped your pathetic little town.” The man smiles darkly. “They want no witnesses to what happened. No way for the news to get back to Solaris. You see why we can’t just let you go, can’t you? If they were to find out about it, then they’d increase their defenses.”

“We can’t have that,” the woman holding Ash snarls. Ash just glares at the man holding her sister.

“Anyway, I think this has gone on long enough. Time to say bye-bye, my dear.” He presses the gun against Alena’s temple harder, and she whimpers. Ash fights against the hands holding her, but to no avail.

Ash screams as a gunshot rings out, and Alena is coated in blood. It takes her a moment, however, to realize that it isn’t Alena’s blood. 

The nocturne man falls to the ground, blood seeping out of the new hole in his head, and Alena falls to her knees.

They all stand, shocked, but the man holding Matthias is the first to snap out of it. He points his gun at Matthias’ back. Matthias turns quickly, pushing the barrel to the ground, but the nocturne pulls the trigger. Matthias shouts as the bullet pierces his calf, and falls. 

The man is also shot, falling to the ground, dead. The woman is the only nocturne left, and instead of fighting, she runs outside to try and escape. It doesn’t take long until she, too, is on the ground dead.

Ash hears the distant sound of a car motor, but ignores it as she crawls over to Matthias.

“I’m fine-” Matthias winces as he repositions his leg, “just a flesh wound.”

Ash looks at him dubiously, but moves over to her sister nonetheless.

“They… he shot Moose. Oh god, Ash, he killed Moose!” Alena starts to cry hysterically. Ash holds her, similar to how she did last night.

“I’m sorry, Alena.”

“He jumped in front of me. He attacked him. Why would he do that?” Alena wails.

“He did it because he loves you. He did it to protect you.”

“Guys, I know this is heartbreaking and all, but those cars about to arrive.” Matthias urges.

Before they can do anything, the cars are stopped, and people are rushing out, guns raised. Ash doesn’t recognize their uniforms, but they’re clearly from a clan. There’s no other reason they would have taken down the nocturne soldiers.

“You three! Hands where I can see them!” One of the men calls, and they quickly comply. A few of them enter the building and search it, a few more entering to search Ash, Alena, and Matthias.

“Who are you?” Ash asks. One of the women stops in front of her.

“We are The Solarii, guards of Solaris City.”

Alena looks at them in awe. “How did you find us?”

“We didn’t. We found the nocturne, and you three happened to be here as well,” a man says, “you’re lucky we got here when we did.”

They’re all silent as the solarii continue their search, and as they’re lead outside to the cars.

“Please, my dog. He was shot. His body-” Alena starts, and the woman understands instantly. She tells another soldier to go retrieve Moose’s body. 

“Where are you guys from?” A man asks, handing them water bottles from the car. 

Matthias, who’s leaned against Ash for support, nods in the direction they came from. “A small town about two days south-west of here. It was raided by The Nocturne a few nights ago. We’re the only survivors as far as we know.”

The man looks at them gravely, taking in each of their faces.

“The name’s Jordan,” he says, crossing his arms, “I’m the commanding officer of this squad.”

As they introduce themselves, a solarii leads Matthias to one of the cars to patch his leg until they can get to the city.

The man who went back in for Moose finally emerges, holding the german shepherd’s limp body in his arms. Alena starts to cry again as he’s placed in the back of one of the cars, and Ash leads her to sit in the back of another.

It’s not long until they’re rolling out, headed to Solaris.

Alena is sat with her head against Ash’s shoulder, and Matthias has his eyes closed beside her, wincing every time they go over a bump.

Ash sighs in relief. They’re finally safe.

They may have nothing left of their previous home, of the life they had just a few days ago, but they still have each other. They still have another chance to rebuild in a better, safer place than before.

Ash falls asleep to the whirring of the engine.


End file.
